Little Brother's Letter
by shsldespair
Summary: You recognize your younger brother's illegible scrawl immediately and you can imagine him, late at night, surrounded by finished books and unfinished essays, erratically writing a letter to you by candlelight, but falling asleep before he can even finish and having to restart in the morning. You smile at the thought and begin to read.


"Miss Vanessa?"

It's dark and the candlelight dimly lights up the face enough for you to identify a servant. She has a two letters in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. "Forgive me for bothering you at such a time, but I was told to deliver these to you." She holds out the letters and you take them, arctic eyes lighting up at the first name. "Would you like the tea?" The calm inquiry stops you from tearing into the letter immediately.

"Ah. You can leave it here." You nod towards a clear spot on your desk and she puts it down, straightening some of your papers and books as well. "Thank you." Curtsying, she leaves. Immediately, you take the first of the letters, placing the second on your desk for you to read later.

You recognize your younger brother's illegible scrawl immediately and you can imagine him, late at night, surrounded by finished books and unfinished essays, erratically writing a letter to you by candlelight, but falling asleep before he can even finish and having to restart in the morning. It would take him a few days and probably even more drafts before he would finally be satisfied to send you the smile at the thought of it and begin to read.

Dear Vanessa,

You shouldn't worry about me so much. I am fine. Really. School has been as normal as ever. I could do without all the security around me, but thank you for the thought. I've improved at sword fighting. Do you think that the Xerxes Break will duel me again? I'm sure to win this time!

Also, mother's birthday is in a two weeks. We should celebrate more splendidly than usual, don't you think? Maybe we could host a ball and invite her friends over. It's a hassle, but she would like that. I think Fred, Ernest, and Claude would like it too.

I went to town yesterday with Leo to try to find something she might like, but you know, I'm not really good at choosing presents for people. Consequently, I could not find anything, so I thought that I could write her a song. I sat the piano, but I couldn't come up with anything decent. It's terrible. Everything I write is either too fast or too slow with tedious melodies. For mother, it needs to be perfect. Anyway, you will probably have more luck than I than finding something for mother.

I will be back home soon. I promise. I can take a leave if I ask, so I can help with mother's birthday. Stay with Hans, alright. You are not the only one who's worried.

Sincerely,

Elliot Nightray

You read the letter a few more times, shaking your head at some parts and laughing at others. For one, you're not going to be losing the security around him any time soon. In fact, he shouldn't even be at Lutwidge right now during such a precarious situation. You don't know how he persuaded you to let him go. He's always escaping your grasp, no matter how tight it is. It makes you feel like an even worse guardian than your parents, but you would never admit that to anyone.

A ball? Well, mother always liked them. It would be a hassle, but certainly worth the trouble if only you could see her smile again. It would make up for the loss of people this year too. Your brothers would have liked it. And maybe she would see how much you loved her and snap out of her delusional state. No. It would take a miracle to get the snake wrapped around her mind to die. Only a fool would think that way.

You sigh and fold the letter back into the envelope lovingly. He'll be back in a few days, so there's no need to write. But, you do miss him dearly. It's painstaking not being able to watch and protect him, with the Headhunter out on the loose and all. What would you do without him?

With a frown, you take the other envelope on your desk and immediately throw it on the ground disgustedly. You're almost tempted to stomp on it or burn it, but that would be ill-mannered, considering that someone will make you go anyway. A coming of age ceremony for the Vessalius boy. Oz. Was that his name? It's not something you would care to remember. You leave the invitation on the ground and blow out the candle.

{AN: Happy birthday, Elliot! *throws confetti and flowers everywhere* Well, this was supposed to be written like a few weeks before the coming of age ceremony, but Elliot's supposed to be at home right now, so I don't know why he would write a letter to Vanessa. Let's just pretend that he went to school, but he's going to come home soon. Also, this is my first fanfiction on here. *romantic kazoo playing* leave constructive criticism in reviews please and thank. goodbye friends}


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